Judge Strikes Prosecutor’s Argument That ‘Justice Demands’ Guilty Verdict [jlFaZzjKIig]
The judge in Gerhardt Konig's attempted murder trial on Tuesday instructed jurors that he had stricken the prosecutor's statement that "justice demands" they return a guilty verdict for attempted second-degree murder. Judge Paul B.K. Wong issued the instruction after a sidebar discussion with the attorneys that was not streamed online but was apparently transcribed by the court reporter. Garner ended his 46-minute closing argument by telling the jury, "There's only one verdict that the just the evidence and justice demands in that verdict is that you find the defendant guilty as charged of attempted murder in the second degree. Thank you." Judge Wong later told the jury, "The argument that state made about justice requiring a particular verdict, that Mr. Garner made right before we ended, is stricken from the record. You are to return a verdict based on the evidence that's presented or the lack of evidence or reasonable inferences therefrom, as well as the court's instruction." I didn't hear defense attorney Thomas Otake's objection, but he probably argued Garner's comment was prosecutorial vouching. It followed an eight-minute discussion outside the jury's presence about Otake's plan to use trial transcripts in his closing argument, which Garner said he shouldn't be allowed to do. The judge overruled Garner's objection. Jurors deliberated about three hours on Tuesday and are to continue deliberating today at 9 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time, which is 12 p.m. PST and 3 p.m. EST.